Improv comedy aficionados might recognize the neighbor who watches the women in Apartment 23 as a member of the A Kiss From Daddy troupe.

But Ashlanders, particularly members of the Class of 2002, will see that Eli, the baby-faced guy who’s not what he appears to be, is really Michael Blaiklock.

Blaiklock moved to Los Angeles after graduating from Emerson College in 2006, and has had parts in a variety of television shows, as well as the 2009 film, “Fired Up,’’ in which he played a character named “Mookie,’’ the nickname he’s had since he was playing baseball at Stone Park.

“Things have gotten easier since 2006,’’ said Blaiklock, but there have been ups and downs.

“I was a nanny for a year,’’ and also a dog-walker, he said. “They were big helps.’’

The youthful look might be a big help, too.

“The baby face, I think, benefits,’’ said his father, Andy Blaiklock. It has helped him get roles playing high-schoolers, and helped provide a bit of shock value for roles that play against type, like Eli.

“On the surface, I’m a preppie health inspector,’’ Michael Blaiklock said of his part on the ABC comedy that premieres at 9:30, after “Modern Family,’’ on April 11. But Eli has “some perverted proclivities.’’

So does he worry about shocking his dad or mom Debbie back home?

They’re “very cool with it,’’ he said of his varied roles. On Comedy Central’s “Secret Girlfriend,’’ playing the role of Sam, “I think I was naked in every episode.’’

“He calls and tells us’’ about what to expect before they see it on TV, said his father.

And they’re glad their son is doing something he enjoys, his father said.

“When he went off to college, we decided to do some remodeling,’’ said the elder Blaiklock, and while moving things around, they found some grade-school “refrigerator art’’ Michael had done as a young boy.

The stick-figure drawing was a man holding a microphone, accompanied by the explanation: “When I grow up, I want to be a comedian so I can make people laugh,’’ Andy Blaiklock recalled.

“I think he developed, at a young age, an adult sense of humor.’’ Being an only child, “he tended to be around more adults’’ than might be typical for a youngster with a lot of siblings, his father said.

Page 2 of 3 - Growing up in Ashland, Blaiklock played baseball and football. He also put on a show called “KidSport’’ for local cable channel WACA. One episode aired. A second was shot “and the footage is out there somewhere,’’ he said, but he found interviewing kids and coaches a little nerve-wracking at 13.

In high school, he did behind-the-scenes work at WACA, played guitar with pals in a rock band, and continued playing sports — with one big change in his junior year.

“That was the year I quit playing baseball so I could do the spring musical’’ with drama director Donna Wresinski.

“Mookie was my ‘Motel the Tailor’ in ‘Fiddler (on the Roof),’ ” Wresinski, now head of the fine arts department at Framingham High, recalled. “Funny kid, always down-to-earth and easygoing.

“He also came to speak to my classes in Framingham a few years ago,’’ she said.

“He was always a team player, so being a part of an ensemble cast (on the upcoming TV comedy) makes complete sense. I am so proud of him and excited as he starts this journey. ... Can’t wait to see the show.’’

As for Blaiklock, he’s still a down-to-earth team player.

When asked about getting his Screen Actors Guild card, a memorable moment for many aspiring actors, he remembers “it was actually kind of a nightmare.’’

“Once you’ve worked on a certain number of SAG projects, you have to join the union. I had a small role on ‘Hung.’ It was the day I was going to go shoot. My agent called me,’’ and said he couldn’t do the scene until he got the card that required $1,300 in dues. “I gave them $300 to hold them off ... Now I pay my dues on time.’’

When asked about whether he’s prepared to find himself chased by paparazzi, he said he’s not worried that will be in the immediate future, even after his recent weight loss.

But “I’m sure Dreama (Walker) and Krysten (Ritter) will’’ garner attention for their lead roles in the series, and James Van Der Beek, the Dawson of “Dawson’s Creek,’’ is already on the celebrity radar.

“I think he’s one of the funniest parts of the show,’’ Blaiklock said of Van Der Beek. His character, a spoof of himself, “is arrogant, but I don’t think I’ve ever met a nicer man in my life.’’

For now, it’s a waiting game to see how the series will be received, but Blaiklock also has other irons in the fire.

“I’m working on writing a pilot right now with my writing partner,’’ Dave Horwitz from Sharon, a fellow Emerson alum, and “we still do comedy together here’’ in Los Angeles.

Page 3 of 3 - But maybe the next time TV trivia mavens spot him on the screen, they’ll remember him as Eli, the man who keeps a close eye on the nice girl, and the not-so-nice girl, in Apartment 23.

(Julia Spitz can be reached at 508-626-3968 or jspitz@wickedlocal.com. You can also read the Spitz Bits blog at www.metrowestdailynews.com/blogs/spitzbits and follow tweets at twitter.com/SpitzJ.)